NewsSerban 'Punches' Through To A Shrew Extension At La MaMa, To Nov. 15

Nov 02, 1998

Director Andrei Serban's "punching" Roman comedy take on William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has decided to "go the distance" and extend one week, through Nov. 15 at New York's La MaMa E.T.C..

Director Andrei Serban's "punching" Roman comedy take on William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew has decided to "go the distance" and extend one week, through Nov. 15 at New York's La MaMa E.T.C..

The production, presented earlier this year at American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, is a high-tech take on Shakespeare's battle of the sexes classic, in which Kate and Petruchio spar in a boxing ring -- literally -- while video cameras roll.

Romanian-born Serban was brought to America in 1969, by La MaMa artistic director Ellen Stewart to direct two classical plays, Ubu Pere and Arden of Faversham , for her resident company. Serban quickly gained a reputation for ritualistic theatre with his productions of the OBIE winning Fragments of a Greek Trilogy (with Swados) and The Good Woman of Setzuan in the mid '70s.

Serban has also gained a reputation for reinterpreting the classics like Chekov's The Cherry Orchard at The Public, The Trojan Women with Liz Swados, The King Stag with puppets by Julie Taymor. It's been a yearful of the Bard for Serban having directed Cymbeline for The New York Shakespeare Festival this summer and he'll be tackling Merchant of Venice in December at ART. Serban's Taming of the Shrew has been extended through Nov. 15. For tickets ($15) or more information call (212) 475-7710. -- By Sean McGrath